United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), established in 1965, is the United Nations' lead agency on international development. It operates in 170 countries and territories, working with governments and other organisations on long-term partnerships aimed at eradicating poverty, reducing inequality and exclusion, and protecting the planet.

UNDP's work spans governance and institutional strengthening, including support for fair elections and the reinforcement of local capabilities and institutions. Other areas of activity include digital access expansion and the application of artificial intelligence, climate change and environmental action, gender equality programmes, sustainable finance, and the linking of crisis response with long-term development and resilience building. The agency also advances the Sustainable Development Goals, with an emphasis on reaching people furthest behind.

The organisation's stated approach is to connect countries with expertise, resources and practical solutions, and to strengthen local institutions rather than act in their place. Its technical domains - governance and public administration, elections and democracy support, sustainable finance, digital inclusion, climate and environment, and the humanitarian-development nexus - constitute the policy and institutional contexts in which its programmes are delivered.